


I'll Face That Wind By Your Side

by Katybug1992



Series: You're the Man, But I Got the Power [8]
Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Off screen harassment and attempted assault, Women in the NHL, female robert thomas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:14:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26797171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katybug1992/pseuds/Katybug1992
Summary: The Tkachuks are always there to catch Robbi when she falls.
Relationships: Robert Thomas & Tkachuk Family (Hockey RPF), Robert Thomas/Matthew Tkachuk
Series: You're the Man, But I Got the Power [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1821067
Kudos: 22





	I'll Face That Wind By Your Side

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by "After The Storm Blows Through" by Maddie and Tae.

1.You've been walking around with a dark cloud, hanging over every step you take. Like the slightest breeze will knock you to your knees, doing your best not to break. Wish I had the words to tell ya, but I got an umbrella and I think it's big enough, for the both of us

Matthew winced as the puck hit the wall as soon as he led his teammates for the weekend downstairs, wincing again as the next one hit a lot harder.

He knew something had been bothering Robbi all day - really since the Blues had played the Rangers on the eleventh. She hadn’t wanted to talk about it but whatever it was had been bothering her since. It had seemed to fuel her on-ice performance but off-ice… Matthew hadn’t gotten a smile to last for more than a couple of seconds. And when he got home… it was like she hadn’t wanted to let go when she hugged him. And his parents knew something was up because they actually encouraged him to sleep downstairs with her.

He stood up to go check on her when Taryn came downstairs.

“Sit,” Taryn told him, “You have company.”

“Robbi -”

“Let me worry about Robbi, okay?” Taryn replied, “Clearly none of the men in her life have been able to help her.”

Taryn then continued to the shooting range, telling him to focus on his guests and warning him that Mitchie Marner would be popping down as soon as she got there and Matthew noticed the way McDavid seemed to perk up a bit at the mention of Mitchie and he was filing that away for later.

Taryn sighed as she turned the corner, “Oh, Robbi, look at your hands. You should have been wearing gloves, at least.”

“I’m fine,” Robbi replied, winding up again.

“You’re not. And everyone knows that.” Taryn leaned against the wall, watching Robbi take another shot, “Petro texted dad to check on you, so have DP and Steener. Dunner and Rou texted me. Your brother texted me and I’m pretty sure your mom has called mine. You’re not responding to anyone and they’re worried. You’ve gone radio silent. I’ve barely seen you since the break started, dad said you’ve been pushing yourself too hard in both games and practice. You don’t talk, not really. Every time Matty tries to talk to you about what happened, you deflect and distract him.”

“Not my fault he’s easily distracted by boobs,” Robbi muttered, firing another puck.

“Talk to me.” Taryn replied, verging on pleaded, “I’m worried about you. I mean, I was here for the Cup cellys but I’ve never seen you as bad as you were after the Rangers game. I’ve never seen you break down like that. It scared me.”

Robbi closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out shakily, “Can we go to my room? Matty doesn’t need to know.”

Taryn immediately nodded and ushered her out, passed Team Pacific, and into Robbi’s room, shutting the door behind them. She sat Robbi on the bed and headed into the en suite to grab the first aid kit so she could wrap Robbi’s hands.

“So?” Taryn prompted when Robbi didn’t say anything.

“DeAngelo is an asshole.” Robbi responded, “I mean, I knew that. Like, it’s one of the first warning Jaden gave me, it’s the warning that every girl who makes the League gets from one of the veteran women, you know? Like, the last time he played the Flyers, he said something to G, and she beat the shit out of him. But I should have been prepared. It wasn’t my first time playing him but it was the first time I spent most of the game on the ice at the same time as him.”

“What happened?”

“He spent the entire game talking about everything he would do to me, and I told Jaden and she did her signature provoke-until-he-reacts-so-that-Schenner-beats-the-shit-out-of-him. Jaden would go herself if she wasn’t, like, two inches tall. But it didn’t work. He kept running his mouth, constantly. And it got to me. It really got to me. And it scared me. And he was doing it in front of the refs, and they didn’t do anything. It clearly crossed the line. Jaden passed it along to Otter who told Chief and they both tried to get the refs to put an end to it, but the refs pretended like they didn’t hear anything. 

“And then after the game… He popped into my DMs on Insta and Twitter. It’s been non-stop. I thought that if I ignored him, he would stop. But… I haven’t told Jaden. She’s already verging on Mamma Bear most of the time but this would…”

“You haven’t talked anyone about this?” Taryn asked carefully.

Robbi just shook her head, biting her lip as tears welled up.

Taryn moved to sit next to her, tipping her over so that Robbi’s head fell on her shoulder and wrapped her arms around the older girl.

“You’re okay,” Taryn whispered as Robbi started crying in full, “You’re okay, Robbi, we have you. We have you. Your team has you. I would love to see someone try to get past Jaden to get to you.”

Robbi managed to get out, “Like, I blocked him after the first couple of days but he’s still in my head.” 

Taryn just tightened her grip on Robbi and let her cry, wishing she knew how to help her.

“I’m going to run upstairs, make you some tea, okay?” Taryn said after a minute, “When I come back downstairs, we’ll have a rom-com night.”

When Taryn came back downstairs, Robbi’s door was open again and Michelle Marner was perched on the bed, whispering to Robbi in low tones.

“Got it?” Mitchie asked gently, standing up.

“Yeah.” Robbi nodded.

“Do you promise?” Mitchie pressed, “You have to promise.”

“Pinky swear.” Robbi gave a small smile, holding her pinky out.

Mitchie hooked them together then smacked a playful kiss to Robbi’s check before saying, “You have better night, okay? I’m gonna go embarrass Davo and then go back upstairs.”

Robbi huffed out a laugh and Mitchie left the room, yelling, “Connor McDavid!! You never call! You never write! It’s like you don’t care about me!”

Followed shortly by an “oof” that was definitely McDavid being jumped on by Mitchie.

Robbi shook her head as Taryn closed the door and handed her a mug of tea.

“Mom wants to join us in a little bit and promised to bring ice cream with her.” Taryn informed, heading over to the movie shelf and pulling out all the rom-coms.

They were half-way through ‘10 Things I Hate About You’ when Chantal knocked lightly and entered the room with a pint of Half-Baked and three spoons.

“Mind if I join you?” Chantal smiled softly.

“Of course you can,” Robbi replied, starting to move so Chantal could sit on the other side of Taryn.

“You stay there,” Chantal laughed softly, “It’s your turn to be in the middle.”

“Thank you,” Robbi muttered, resting her head on Chantal’s shoulder.

“Anytime, Kiddo,” she replied, resting her head on top of Robbi’s and handing her the ice cream.

2.I'll face that wind by your side, even take on that rain, I don't mind, or give you space or give you time, If you need me to, but I'll be here for you after the storm blows through.

It had been two month since Robbi was called up and Chantal could not have been prouder of how she had handled it. She was responsible and so respectful of everyone. And she handled dumb little storylines well. She didn’t let them get to her. Chantal figured she had had practice. After all, she had been dating Matthew for years now. She was used to being tied to Matthew and she was used to turning those questions around into talking about herself as a good hockey player in her own right. Something she must have been taught by Michelle Marner - Lord knows that girl had spent her career (including in the O) having her dating life talked about as something equally important to her play. She should have known that Robbi would have also picked up a mask.

Robbi was curled up on the couch pretending to be watching NHL Network.

“You wanna talk about it?” Chantal asked, raising an eyebrow when Robbi looked ready to deny anything was wrong, “I have a teenage daughter, I know what pretending to watch tv looks like.”

“There’s a picture of me and Dunner circlating on Twitter.” Robbi seemed to be trying to make herself smaller, “It looks like something is happening that isn’t and I spent more time after practice talking about that picture than I spent being asked about the upcoming game.”

Chantal sat down on the couch and urged Robbi to lay down. When the girl’s head was in her lap, she started running her fingers through Robbi’s thick hair, “You’re allowed to have close male friends, in fact I would expect you to. I’d be worried if you weren’t close to your teammates.”

“I just…. I know I did nothing wrong. And I know that Matty knows I did nothing wrong. But I still feel guilty.” Robbi bit her lip, “And I know I’m allowed to guy friends and I know that Matty knows I would never - but I’ve been getting a lot of mentions and DMs on Twitter and Insta and I don’t know how to make it stop.”

“You don’t have to defend yourself, darling,” Chantal replied softly.

“That’s what Matty said,” Robbi sniffled, “But… I just wish I have close guys friends without rumors starting or people jumping to conclusions. I mean, everyone has thinks Mitchie and McDavid have dating forever and they think she’s been cheating on him with Matthews for four years. And Mitchie had repeatedly said that she’s single. Every time Giroux or Backstrom breathe near a guy, it’s jumped to the conclusion that that’s the boyfriend. Jaden can’t get people to stop believing that she and Schenner are together so she’s stopped trying all together, even though she has a boyfriend of her own and he is the jealous type apparently. And Nolan had to put up with it all through the draft and even now, but the difference is that she wasn’t dating Nico and she is dating Konencny now. I just… I know what I signed up for a girl in the NHL. But I guess I just thought…. I thought I would longer. Or I thought that it wouldn’t be as bad since Matty and I have clearly been together for a long time.”

“Don’t hold yourself back, don’t you hold any part of yourself back,” Chantal told her gently, “You’re young. You’re allowed to go out with your friends and to have fun. Matty would never want you to not do something with them just because of what some people might think. And if he ever did, then he and I would be having a very serious talk.”

They sat in silence for a minute before Chantal said, “You are an amazing young woman, Robbi Thomas. And you are going to do some amazing things - for yourself, for your community, and for hockey. And I am so excited to watch you grow as a person as well. I could not imagine someone better suited for Matthew than you. And if you ever need a reminder of who you are, you come find me.”

Chantal lightly tapped Robbi’s nose, making her giggle - and Chantal hopped she never grew out of her giggle - and smile for the first time that day.

“Do you want help with dinner?” Robbi asked.

“I always welcome your help, it’s nice to have one person in this house who isn’t useless in the kitchen,” Chantal smiled down at her, “But we can sit here for a bit longer.”

Robbi was silent for so long that Chantal thought she may have dozed off - the girl could fall asleep anywhere - and was surprised to here her say, “Thank you, Mamma Chanty. For everything.”

“Anytime, darling.”

3.You know, you and me, we've been thick as thieves, you get cut I feel the pain. We're stuck together, no matter what the weather and that ain't gonna change. I don't know how long the hurt'll hold on or when the sun will shine again. So until then…

Matthew didn’t know what he was expecting when he saw Dunn’s name pop up on his Caller ID but it definitely wasn’t the other man telling him he should check in with Robbi. That something had happened when the team had gone out the previous night in Edmonton but Dunn had promised not to tell Matthew. And that was enough to make him worried, especially since he was seeing her the next day when they had their off day, but then Mitchie texted him telling him that he NEEDED to call Robbi.

So he got in his car and headed to the hotel the Blues were staying at. The fact that he didn’t know what room she was in was solved when Jaden spotted him entering the lobby. And she looked like she hadn’t slept at all the night before and her left hand was wrapped.

“She’s in room 504.” Jaden told him before turning her attention back to Schenn and O’Reilly. 

Matthew nodded his thank you and headed toward the elevator.

When he got up to her room, he knocked gently and was surprised that Blais opened the door.

Sammy looked at him for a minute before letting him into the room.

“Matty?” Robbi asked, sounding confused from where she was curled up between Dunn and Kyrou.

And Matthew had to bite down his fury, because she had not only a black eye, but there was a pretty bad bruise on her jaw and he knew those weren’t from her game the other night.

“We’re gonna go ahead and leave you in your boyfriend’s care, okay?” Kyrou smoothed her hair back before standing up.

“See you for breakfast, Princess,” Dunn whispered, detangling himself from her and standing up, “Call or text me if you need anything, okay?”

Robbi nodded and Matthew moved to kneel in front of her, gently touching the bruises.

“What happened?” he breathed out, picking up the ice pack that was on the nightstand and pressing it gently against her jaw.

“We went out last night in Edmonton.” Robbi replied, trying not to make eye contact, “And I thought the bartender was just being nice, you know? But then I turned him down and he didn’t react well. I mean, he didn’t call me anything I haven’t heard before but then he grabbed me and…. When he got me outside, the back of the building, he didn’t like that I was putting up a fight. He only landed two of his hits and then Jaden came out and… she jumped in, got him pretty good, then got me back inside and out of there.”

And Matthew had to start taking calming breaths since there was nothing he could do about it right then.

“Are you okay?” he asked gently, placing the ice pack back on the nightstand.

“I’m better now,” Robbi smiled softly, running a finger down the side of his face, “Dunner tell you?”

“He just told me I should call you,” Matthew replied, moving up onto the bed to sit next to her, “Mitchie was the one who said I NEEDED to call you.”

“Jaden informed the GC - Segs made one for all women in the League - as a PSA to avoid that bar. She didn’t tell them what happened, but then Mitchie FaceTimed me and saw...well, you know. She demanded to know if I had told you yet and that I needed to tell you. I just… I was embarrassed, you know? Every parental figure in my life has always told me that I need to be careful. That I’m too nice and that could be a liability at some point… I just.. I never thought…”

“You’re okay,” Matthew gathered her into his arms and pulled her against him, biting his lip as she let herself start crying and clung to him tightly.

Eventually, she had cried herself to sleep and Matthew stayed with her, running a hand through her hair, until her door opened.

“Hey, Kid,” Petro greeted, “how is she?”

“Shaken still, but I think she’ll be okay,” Matthew replied, “You coming to kick me out of the hotel?”

“Unfortunately,” Petro gave a sad smile, “you’ll see her again in twelve hours, but you should probably head out. It’s getting late and I’m pretty sure you have a morning skate.”

Matthew gave Petro a small smile before easing himself out from under Robbi and rearranging the blankets around her. He grabbed the hotel notepad and wrote a quick note to her and left it on her nightstand. He kissed her temple and smoothed her hair back one more time before leaving.

“Tell Jaden ‘thank you’ for me?” Matthew asked as Petro walked with him to the elevator.

“I will,” Petro nodded, “If you didn’t have early skate tomorrow and if she wouldn’t get fined at breakfast for having you sleep here, I wouldn’t be kicking you out.”

“I know,” Matthew grinned, “You tell my dad what happened?”

“Steener did, yeah,” Petro nodded, “You should have seen the guy after Jaden got with him?”

“Really?”

“She’s small, so her anger doesn’t have as much space as it would if she was taller,” Petro grinned, “and it all came out of her. Borts had to literally grab her and pull her off of the guy.”

“He gonna press charges?”

“Why would he? Not only would he have to admit to assaulting Robbi, but then he’d have to admit that one of the smallest players in the NHL - and a woman on top that - beat the shit out of him.” 

Matthew huffed out a laugh at that, “She’s not -”

“Robbi doesn’t want to press charges, just so you know.” 

“I’m not surprised,” Matthew clenched his jaw, “let me know if… keep an eye on her?”

“I don’t think anyone is letting her go off on her own any time soon.”

“Good. I just… I worry about her.”

“She’ll be okay.”

“Thanks, Petro.”

“Go on, try to get some sleep tonight.”

Matthew huffed out a laugh, but got on the elevator and headed home. Sending Robbi a text and replanning their time together the next day.

4.I'll face that wind by your side, even take on that rain, I don't mind, or give you space or give you time, If you need me to, but I'll be here for you after the storm blows through and your skies are blue again and you're back to you again.

Brady had heard the throw away comments about Robbi for a while now. A lot of people wanting to write her off as a WAG-In-Training, that it was only a matter of time before she hung up the skates, moved to Calgary, married Matthew, and started popping out his offspring.

And the All-Star Game seemed to have ramped that up, with Robbi wearing Matthew’s jersey, sitting in the box with their friends and family, with Matthew very clearly showing off for her - saying that in not so many words.

But Brady could tell it was starting to get to her.

“Hey,” he knocked lightly on the doorframe to her room, “can I come in?”

Robbi gave him a smile said, “Sure. There’s no rules about you being down here.”

Brady laughed and entered the room, closing the door behind him and sitting across from her on her bed, “You okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” she replied.

“Well, you’re trying embroidery again and you only attempt to pick that up when something’s wrong.”

“My grandma says it’s a great way to reset, to clear one’s mind.” Robbi sighed, “I’m not good at it.”

“I know,” Brady grinned, “I’ve seen the previous attempts.”

Robbi huffed and set down the project on her bedside table, “What’s up?”

“You tell me,” Brady replied, “I know you heard.”

“I hear a lot of things,” Robbi replied, hugging her knees to her chest.

“You heard the question.” Brady fixed her with a look.

“It’s not the first time it’s been brought up,” Robbi replied.

“But it was crossing a line.”

“And Matty told them it was.”

“Robbi.”

“Matty wants to propose, you know. But he’s worried that if he does, then the topic of conversation will be how much longer I plan to play. And, like, the Blues organization… they know that I’m not hanging up the skates anytime soon, but that kind of talk…. And my agent cautioned me against getting engaged and married too soon, said it could effect future contracts. It’s just… sometimes I feel like I have to choose between moving forward in my career and moving forward with Matty. Like, the guys never have to deal with this. No one cares when they engaged or married or their girl is pregnant. But with me, with all the women in the League…. It’s like everyone has an opinion on my relationship and they all think they’re opinion is more important than what Matthew and I want.”

“Robbi -”

“And now the conversation is ‘well, she’s not going to be at his level anytime soon, if ever, so how long until she realizes she won’t be more than a mediocre player and maybe she should hang up the skates before it’s too late’.”

“‘Before it’s too late’? What the hell does that mean?”

“Before I’m too old to have Matty’s kids.”

“Okay,” Brady grabbed her face and made her look at him, “I need you to listen to me. You are not Matthew Tkachuk’s Girlfriend. You are Robbi Thomas. And you are amazing. You amaze me. I love watching you play. The way you see the ice, the way you move… it blows my mind everytime and I hate playing you because I know you’re going to be my person whenever we’re on the ice together and I know that I’m going to be sore the next day because you’re going to make my job hell.”

“Brads -”

“No, listen to me.” Brady shook his head, “You are an amazing player in your own right. You’re not an amazing player for girl. You’re not an amazing player for someone of your age or size. You’re not an amazing player dating Matthew Tkachuk. You’re an amazing player. End of sentence. End of thought.” 

“Yeah?” Robbi gave him an unsure look.

“Yeah,” Brady replied, “you know, dad brags about you.”

“Yeah,” Robbi smiled softly, “I know. Chief told me.”

“How often does dad go to your practices?”

“Not a lot, but the new Centene Center has an alumni lounge so…” Robbi shrugged, “He pops in sometimes, usually when Jax or Prongs are there.”

Brady chuckled. He had seen the video of the last time his dad had gone to a practice. It was recorded after practice had officially ended and it was just Robbi and Walt on the ice.

“You know you’re good, right?” Brady prompted, “I know you get told that you are, but you know you are, right?”

“Sometimes,” Robbi nodded, “But other times… it’s hard to know you’re good when you’re talked about out of the context of the sport you play, or when you have a bad game and that’s all anyone wants to talk about, or when you’re told in not so many words that you’ll never be as good as the men you play with.

“But then, but then O’Ry tells me how impressed he is with me. Or Chief says that I’ve improved a lot since last season alone. Or Jaden says that she can’t wait to see how good I’ll be in a few years. Or your dad brags about my play to anyone who will listen like I’m really his second daughter and when he wants to get on the ice with me and when he tells me how proud he is, how he’s always there even after I haven’t had the best game, he’s still there with the list of things I did right. And that makes it easier, having those moments to reflect on in the bad moments.”

“Well, I’m always willing to tell you how amazing you are, too.” Brady leaned forward and playfully knocked their heads together, “Because you may be Matty’s girlfriend, but you’re my best friend. And I am always down for inflating your non-existent ego.”

“There’s already enough ego in this house,” Robbi rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, so catch up.”

And Robbi threw her head back and laughed.

5.I'll face that wind by your side, even take on that rain, I don't mind, or give you space or give you time, If you need me to, but I'll be here for you after the storm blows through.

Robbi wasn’t expecting Walt to be waiting at the airport when they got back from Edmonton after being knocked out. She had told him that Jaden was going to give her ride home.

“Hey kid,” he greeted as she reached him.

And she collapsed against him as soon as he hugged her, hugging him back just as tightly.

“You played well, Robbi,” Walt muttered into her hair, “You played well.”

“Not good enough,” Robbi replied against his chest.

“One person doesn’t make a team,” Walt responded, “I know I’ve told you that before. Now, let’s go home. Matty’s back, too. And I know that I’m not going to be able to convince you two not to sulk, but at least you can sulk together. And Chantal is making your favorite for dinner.”

“Okay,” Robbi pulled back and let him load her bags into the car.

“You hiding any injuries? How’s your head?”

“I’m good. My neck and shoulders hurt, but my head’s fine.”

“I grab the heating pad when we get home.”

They drove in silence, just the radio on - he had set it to one of the 102.5 because he knew she liked that station best. Halfway home, she turned to him and said, “Thank you, Walt. For everything.”

“It’s no problem, Kid.” Walk looked over briefly and ruffled her hair, “You’re family.”

And Robbi beamed at him in response, the sting of the Bubble Experience starting to fade.


End file.
